Folding game table



Dec. 4, 1956 Filed May 11, 1955 C. M. READ FOLDING GAME TABLE 3Sheets-Sheet l INVHVTOR. Cums M. READ,

Arm/war.

Dec. 4, 1956 c. READ 2,772,935

FOLDING GAME TABLE Filed May 11, 1955 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 0' .9. U- :3INVENTOR.

& 'CLYDE M. READ,

E y L1 A M 3 I ATra/MEY Dec, 4, 1956 c. M. READ 2,772,935

' FOLDING GAME TABLE Filed May 11, 1955 s Shets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. CLYDEM..RE AD, BY

A TTORNEY United States Patent FOLDING GAME TABLE Clyde M. Read, MiamiShores, Fla.-

Applicati'on May 11, 1955, Serial No. 507,541

1 Claim. (Cl. 31 1-89) This invention relates to folding tables and hasparticular reference to a table for use as a game board, such asping-pong or other uses requiring a relatively large work surface.

The prime objector the invention is to provide al'foldingtable structurehaving relatively few parts andthat is extensible in a manner to providea continuous flat surface corresponding generally to the size of theusual and well known ping-pong tables, and withthe construction beingsuch as to permit the device to be folded into a relatively smallcompact unit requiring relatively little space for storage.

A further object resides in a table structure having the above namedcharacteristics and "that may be economically manufactured, yetpossessing the required stability for the purposes intended.

Novel features of construction and operation of the device will be moreclearly apparent during the course of the following description,reference being had tolthe accompanying drawingafwherein therefhasbeenillustratedthepreferred form of "the nevi-wand" whereindike -charac'tefsof "reference are employed to denote like parts throughout the several ffigures.

ln the drawings: i

Figure 1 "is an end "view or" a 'table 'c'ons'tructed in accrdance withthe invention "and showndn'the'extended osition,

Figure '2 "is a top plan view of. the table in the extended position,

Figure 3' is aside'elev'ation oflthetableintheextended jpos'itio'n,

Figure 4 'is an enlarged fragmentary verticalsecti'on, takenstibsta'ntijally on line 44 "of Figure'Q,

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the tableinthefolded pos tion,

Figure 6 is a 'cjentral yeitical sectional view through the folded'tablejillu'st'rate'd 'in Figure 5, and

l i'gure 7 is a fragmentaryfhorizontal section taken substantially o'nline'l' 77 'o f Figurei'a. v V

fkeferring i'specific'ally "to the drawings, the numeral 5 designates apedestal 'a's awholethat is ge'nerallygr ectangular in 'top plan view,and ,preferablyfformed V of wood or "any other de'sirat ile -'mfaterials The "pedestal embodies base members 6, and with each base {membercarrying a ,pair of Spaced apart and preferablysquarep'erpendicula-rbars 7. The base mnibe'rB fand the bars l are spacedapart and fparallelwi theaeh"other adistance corresponding to anadequate su port "for fthe table. Ve'r'ticallys hiftablebetweemthe bars7 are plunger bars "8 that extend "above the upper iends ofthe bars 7"and are rigidly connected at their Uppenrids with'a relat'ively narrow'andhorizontally arranged transverse center panel 9. The upperends *ofthe *ba1s 7 are rigidly connected together byfframe'members while eachblocks 11." GuideiS'l-atesdlZ, together"withj-theif me 'men'ibers, "10,'nrairitain the plungerfbars 8 in their -accurate tr'aversebe'tween'thebars -7. The uppe'r ends "ice 2 of the plunger bars 8 maybebraced with respectto the panel 9 by any suitable angle brackets 13,whereby the panel 9 will be maintained against'twistingwith respect tothe plungers. I

Means are'emplo'yed to elevate'the bars 8 comprising a cross shaft 14carrying winding drums 15. The shaft 14 is journaled in companion bars 7at opposite sides of the pedestal and a hand crank 16 isemployed'torotate the shaft and the drums. Endless cables '17 arewrapped about the'drums 1 5 and are trained over upper grooved pulleysT18 and lower grooved'pulleys 19 and with the upper pul1eys 18 beingrotatably supported upon one frame member 10, while the (lower pulleys"19 are rotatably supported upon the base members '6. The cables 17intermediate theirlength are connected to the inner plates 12, wherebyrotation of the shaft 14 and the drums 15 will resu'lt in the plungerbars and'their associated panel '9 being elevated or lowered. The'bars7, at each end of the ;pedestal, are connected together by frame members20.

Hingedly connected at opposite sides of the panel 9, as 'by hingeelements 21, "are relatively large leaf sections 22. The hinge elements21 are connected with the leaf sections 22 through'the medium'oftransversely extending reinforcing strips 23 carried by the underside ofeach leaf section 'a predetermined distance "inwardly from their innerends. The spacing ofthe reinforcing strips 'inwardlyhas been calculatedto causethe inner'endsof thefleaf sections 22, when inthe extended tableforming position, to overlie 'thepanel9 an equal distance so thattheir'ends 'will be parallel and substantially abutting, having'onlyenough clearance to permit the hinged movement "of the leaf .sections toand from their extended position. Thus, with the table in the fullyextended position/the leaf sections.22'wil1"be arrangedin a horizontal'rnanner andparallel with respect to the panel9. 7

Means are provided whereby the'leaf sections 22 are shiftable in unisonthrough an identical .arc'to be disposed either in the extended tableforming position 'or in 'the foldedlposition, showninFigures 5 and 6,comprising fulcrum bars '24'that are arranged in pairs upon the oppositesides of thepedestal. Each'fulcrum bar 24 is pivotally supported at itslower end upon theblocks 11, as at 25, and at'their oppositeendsarepivotally suppor'ted'to reinforcing strips 26, as at 27, rigidlyconnected withtheund'er -side ofeach leaf section 22. Thus, the fulcrumbars 24'swing in avertical plane with the leaf'sections 22 undertheinfluence of therise and'fall of the plunger barsS.

'The operation ofthe structure so "far described is.as follows:

Assuming the "table to be inthe fully .extendedposition, shown in Figure"3, it will clearly be apparent that pressure exerted in a downwarddirection upon either of the leaf members 22, ajfulcrum action "will beimparted through the fulcrum bars 24, causing theliinged end of'the"leaf-sections -torise upwardly carryingthe panel9'in anupward.directio'niand causingthe plunger bars 8 tolbe elevated. This initialaction is'illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 3. Itwillbe apparentthat the upward movement of the panel '9'will ca'use'the'opposite-leafsection 22 to 'a'lso'fulcrum uponits associated fulcrum bars 24,imparting an identical shifting movement to'the opposite leaf and, whenin the. fully folde'd position, each leaf section 22 will be disposed in"afperpendicular plane and with the fulcrum bars 24 'being slightlyangled outwardly. Since the cables '17 and their associated drums andpulleys are freely movableg'the table may be shifted to "and from itsfolded position causing l the "cables to frely traverse their"respective drums and'pfilleys. :Wiihthetabledn thefolde d position, asillustrated in Figures 5 and 6, when it is desired to extend the leafsections 22, the operator engages one leaf section, swinging itoutwardly and upwardly, causing the fulcrum bars to swing outwardly andthrough their fulcrum connections, causing the panel 9 and itssupporting plunger barsto shift downwardly to a point where the panel 9rests upon the upper ends of the bars 7 and their associated frame 10,in which position the inner ends of the leaf sections 22 rest upon andoverlie the panel 9, preventing further downward movement andpositioning the leaf sections 22 in a horizontal plane, forming ineffect a relatively long game table. The mechanism described will becapable of supporting the leaf sections in their extended position undernormal usage. It may be desired of course that latch means be associatedwith the shaft 14, whereby to prevent accidental movement of the plungerbars 8, thus additionally supporting the table in its extended positionagainst movement.

It has been found, however, that with a table having a lengthcorresponding to the well known ping-pong tables, that there is always atendency for pressure to be placed upon the outer ends of the leafsections 22, causing the leaf sections to be depressed accidentally. Toprovide against such accidental shifting, there has been provided foreach leaf section 22 a pair of prop legs 28 and with each pair of proplegs being connected together adjacent their outer ends by rods 29. Theinner ends of each pair of prop legs are pivotally connected upon thereinforcing strips 26 through the medium of the pivotal connections 27heretofore described with respect to the fulcrum bars 24. The legs 28are manually swung to and from an angular prop position, shown moreclearly in Figure 3 and, when in the prop position, serve to brace theleaf sections 22 against accidental downward movement. Batten strips 30fixed to the under side of the leaf sections 22, adjacent their outerends, carry spring clips 31 that have clipping engagement with the rods29 when the prop legs 28 are shifted to an inactive or nested positionto be maintained in such position throughout the folding of the table.It will thus be seen that when unusual weights are engaged upon theupper surface of the leaf sections 22, the operator swings each pair ofprop legs 28 downwardly for engagement with the floor area and with thelegs being angled outwardly from their pivots 27, thus providing a veryeffective brace against the accidental shifting of the table. Each propleg 28 is preferably provided with rubber tips 32 that retard anytendency for the legs 28 to slide outwardly under the influence ofexcessive Weight upon the upper surface of the table. It will thus beseen that when the table is to be folded, the legs 28 are first swungupwardly to engage their respective spring clips 31, after whichpressure upon either leaf section 22 will fulcrum the inner ends of theleaf sections upwardly together with the panel 9 and the associatedplunger bars 8. The several prop legs and the fulcrum bars 24 are allfully nested adjacent the under-side of the leaf sections 22 when thetable is fully folded and provides a very compact unit that may beeasily shifted to a place of storage or shifted against a wall where itwill employ relatively little space. While it has been pointed out thatthe table is quickly and easily folded by merely exerting pressure uponthe outer ends of either leaf section, the operator may desire to foldthe table through the medium of the shaft 14 and its associated drumsand cables, whereby the plungers are caused to shift upwardly ordownwardly as the case may be. Since the table is primarily adapted tobe used as a game table for ping-pong or the like, the inner edges ofeach leaf section 22 have been notched, whereby the leaf sections, whenin the extended position, form cylindrical openings for the reception ofnet supporting pegs 33 adjacent each side of the table and with the pegs33 supporting a pingpong net 34. It will be obvious, of course, that thetable is adaptable for many uses other than as a game table and, whenemployed for other purposes, such as a dining table, it becomesessential that the prop legs 28 be swung downwardly as a means toprevent the shifting of the leaf sections under the influence of personsleaning thereon or otherwise exerting unusual pressure, such as normallyoccurs upon a dining table. The structure may be readily adapted invarious sizes, such as a cocktail table, in which case the pedestal andassociated elements will be made in a size corresponding to the usualtype of such a table. It is contemplated that the entire structure shallbe formed exceptionally light in weight and with the several parts,including the bars 7 and the base members 6, shall be constructed in amanner to prevent any tendency to twist or weave in use. It iscontemplated that the leaf sections 22 shall be constructed of plywoodand the members 26 inpart rigidity thereto against any tendency to warpor flex,

It will be apparent from the foregoing that an extremely simple andnovel construction has been provided whereby a relatively large tablemay be quickly and easily folded to a nested position having arelatively small size. The use of the fulcrum bars 24 in associationwith hingedly connected leaf sections presents a very novel constructionthat permits a single individual to easily shift the table to and froman extended position, since it becomes necessary to only actuate oneleaf section in order to impart a corresponding movement to the oppositeleaf section and with the leaf sections when in the fully foldedposition,will overlie the base members 6 to be parallel with each other.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the preciseconstruction shown but that changes are contemplated as readily fallwithin-the spirit of the invention as will be determined by the scope ofthe subjoined claim.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

A folding table that includes a rectangular pedestal having base membersat opposite ends, each base member rigidly supporting a pair of spacedapart square bars that are parallel and vertically arranged and with thepairs of bars at the opposite ends of the pedestal being parallel,square plunger bars slid-able in a vertical plane between the pairs ofbars, cross frame members at the upper and lower ends of the pedestalwhereby to rigidly connect the pairs of bars, a rectangular panel memberthat is rigidly connected to the upper ends of the plunger bars alongits longitudinal center line, a pair of relatively large leaf membersthat are hingedly connected to the opposite longitudinal edges of thepanel, each of the leaf members being co-extensive in length and width,transverse strips fixed to the under side of the leaf members inwardlyof their inner ends and with the strips constituting the point ofconnection for the hinge, the leaf members being swingable in a verticalplane from a horizontal table forming position to a folded position, thesaid leaf members when in table forming position having their inner endsin overlying and parallel relation to the panel whereby their inner endsterminate along the longitudinal center line of the panel, a pair offulcrum bars disposed at opposite sides of the pedestal and with theirlower ends being pivotally connected at each base member and their upperends being pivotally connected with the under side of the leaf membersintermediate and adjacent each side of the leaf members, the said leafmembers swingable downwardly from their outer ends upon the fulcrum barswhereby to cause their inner ends to be elevated for elevating the saidpanel and its associated plunger bars through the medium of the hingeconnection, the elevating of the panel and the plunger bars transmittinga similar movement to the opposite leaf member upon its associatedfulcrum bars, the leaf members when in the fully folded position of thetable being disposed in a vertical plane to be parallel to each otherand parallel to the pedestal, the said fulcrum bars being angledoutwardly from the pedestal in either position of the table andunderlying the leaf members, a pair of brace legs for each leaf memberand with each pair of brace legs being pivotally connected to the leafmembers at the points of pivotal connection for the fulcrum bars, thesaid legs being swingable downwardly on their pivots when the leafmembers are in table forming position to be outwardly angled and infloor engagement for bracing the leaf members against fulcrumed movementupon the fulcrum bars, the said legs adapted to be swung to nestedposition beneath the leaf members when the leaf members are to beshifted to a folded position and cable means carried by the pedestal andconnected with each plunger bar whereby to mechanically shift the leafmembers to and from a table forming position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

